Love Freo

I say cool a lot and I know I need more adjectives to describe stuff but… the coolest place has just (3 weeks ago) opened in Fremantle’s East End: The East End Bar and Lounge.

I went there on Saturday night and seriously the place is fab you have to go check it out. The decor is a cross between a gentleman’s smoking lounge and Moulin Rouge with a bit of Soho House thrown in. Chesterfields, Louis XV chairs, standard lamps, chandeliers, brocade fabric and three different types of flocked wall paper. A lot of care and detail has been put in to the surroundings.  Another thing I liked was that the place wasn’t completely gutted: many of the original features from the bars previous incarnation as a working man’s Irish pub are still there and it all fits together nicely. It’s a unique place not only for Fremantle but for Perth.

Left: Downstairs where the dance floor is. Right: Upstairs another lounge area.

Whatever about the decor, the drinks are great as well. A huge plus is that there’s table service so if you have a good spot lounging in a wing backed chair you can stay where you are. We moved around quite a bit and sat at the bar for a while. A barman with Russel Brand hair served up some good drinks, I had a whiskey sour and negroni and another fruity raspberry thing that I can’t remember the name of.

There’s a big dance floor and when we arrived, which was about 9.30pm, a seven piece band was playing. It managed to be nice and loud but you can still hold a conversation with the person next to you without screaming at each other. No doubt all the fabric draped everywhere helps the acoustics. There’s two large plasma screens mounted over the dance floor showing MTV, I’d rather see some Nouvelle Vague or trashy Russ Meyer screening, MTV doesn’t suit the tone of the place.

Currently it’s open on Friday and Saturday night and the dress code I’d say is more smart than casual; everyone seemed to have put a bit of effort in with their clothes.

The East End Bar and Lounge,
189 High Street,
Fremantle,
WA 6160.

Ph: (08) 9335 3331

Cocktail is one of my favourite words. Because I’m a child at heart really.

Anyway, while I’ve been drinking overpriced imported beer elsewhere in Fremantle, Emily Tchan checked out the cocktails at the new lounge above Maya Indian Restaurant on Market Street.  She had this to say about it:

It is a very small, simply decorated candlelit bar. We were surprised to find out that the prices are extremely reasonable, compared to some of the inflated prices of Fremantle. The cocktails are fantastic, the (only) waiter is great (think there may have been a few return visitors for him). They also have bottled beer and a good wine list. I recommend trying the Goa Sunrise (not the full name, a mature sex on the beach) with fresh pineapple, truly to die for. Very exciting for Freo.

Thanks for sending that to us Emily. Exciting indeed, hopefully this will be start the start of the Fremantle cocktail revolution. BTW, their food is great too.

Maya,
75-77 Market St,
Fremantle,
WA 6160.

Phone: (08) 9335 2796‎

Cocktail lounge open Thursday to Sunday from 6pm.

Maya Indian Restaurant

Not always easy to find a neat summary of decent gigs going on at the weekend in Freo. So we’ll give it a stab.

Friday night, 18th September

• Mojo’s – DM3 headline Mojos Bar for a night of old school Power Pop. From 8pm. Tickets $15 on the door.
• Little Creatures Loft – One Tiger Down. Sounds like cool music. From 8pm. Ticket price unknown, possibly free.
• Seaview Tavern – Ben Francis Band. Independent singer/songwriter, might be worth checking out.  From 8.30pm. Free (I think).
• Kulcha – BRASILINTIME is a filmic map that connects the world of Rio de Janeiro to the South Bronx. 8pm.  $10 on the door.
• Newport Hotel – FELIX & DEGRAAF DJs play some rock and poptastic beats. From 8pm. Free
• Clancy’s Fish Pub – Dilip and the Davs. Just spoke to Clancy’s and this gig is on; should be great. From 9pm. You can eat fish too.
• Fly By Night - South West Souls’ four resident DJ’s will have you dancing your socks off all night with an across the board mix of Motown, Northern Soul & Modern Soul. 8pm $10.

Saturday night, 19th September

• Mojos’s – Roger That plus quite a few other people. From 8pm. $15 on the door.
• Kulcha – The Lazy Railway… a young man with an old soul of gold. 8pm. $15 on the door.
• Clancy’s – CBC Jazz Orchestra. That’s as much info as I have.
• Norfolk Basement -Those International Playboys of Pleasure return…..OATS SUPPLY with guests. 8pm, probably $10.
• Metropolis – Hurray for Metropolis. Join the young ‘uns for Lady Penelope while downing vodka red-bulls. Classy.

Let me know if I’ve missed something that shouldn’t be.

Just a quick note… Maya Indian Restaurant has recently secured a bar licence.

Love Freo welcomes this joyful news as we live in hope of finding great cocktails in this fine City of Fremantle. We have a special occasion coming up soon so we may pop in there to celebrate.

Maya Indian Restaurant

Maya Indian Restaurant,

75-77 Market Street,
Fremantle,
WA 6160.

Phone: (08) 93352796

Wandering down High Street we passed, once again, The Buffalo Club, wondering where it got its name from. I mean, the origin and purpose of a Navy, Workers, Sailing, Italian, Bocce or other clubs is clear, but why Buffalo? So the Melbourne Man and I went in to check it out. What we discovered is an uncomplicated bar, harsh but fair, a place for workers, wharfies and just everyone who fancies an honest drink. The lady behind the bar knew her crowd and it was great watching her chatting away while doing her work with simple grace. While there was no trace of buffaloes we came across a talking deer head.

Fremantle Buffalo Club
54 High Street
Fremantle WA 6160

It’s been a while since we last visited the Loft (not to be mistaken for the ‘old’ Loft fondly remembered by the ‘older’ Perth people), as we still haven’t really forgiven the owners for ditching the cocktails. No idea why that’s been done. It was quite an experience watching the Canadian bar virtuoso creating the most tasty and unique cocktails which could compete with great bars around the world. Alright – cocktails are gone, but the space is still one of the best in the West. Love sitting in the sun on the big balconies, love the view over the fishing boat harbour, love the space, the winged chairs, the long table, the friendly staff… On Sunday there was a band playing. In the beginning we found it a bit loud and we moved outside as we wanted to talk, but the later the day it seemed to be blending in nicely. The Pale Ale went down well, so did the wine and the lentil dish our friend ordered was very tasty. We’ll be back.

This is in the ladies toilets at X-wray. I pondered it for a while. Would a bar/restaurant really plug in its freezer in the toilet? The cable goes off up towards the roof to somewhere unknown so maybe it really is the freezer.

Turn Off and Die

Xwray Café and Bar

13 Essex St, Fremantle, WA 6160.

I went back to Mrs Brown on Friday night (it’s definitely called Mrs Brown not Mrs Brown’s). Myself The Brunette and another friend arrived at about 9 o’clock and it was packed. The bar man said it was nearly at capacity which is great since it’s only open 5 weeks, has done no advertising and at this point has no website.

I’m really glad another bar has opened in the area with Mojo’s, Flipside, and Harvest North Freo is gradually building into it’s own little spot worth going to for a night out.

Mrs Brown Business Card (Unexpect the Expected, Indeed I Shall)

There was a nice crowd in the bar everyone was dressed really well. I was obsessing over some of the clothes people were wearing especially this girl in a sequined top, sounds a bit tacky but it looked like a vintage piece and was the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time.

Anyway we went to the bar and hopefully asked for the cocktail list, unfortunately they don’t have one so we got some G&Ts instead and wandered around to have a look at the back room. We moved through the crowd to find a spot and ended up helping some guy with his Scrabble, he seemed to be part of a very unsuccessful game with just “Paid” and “Bay” on the board.

Out the back is nice, it’s cosy and you can see that the building used to be a house with two disused fire places that are now full of candles. Over all there’s a nice style to the place with nice little touches here and there; like the business cards sitting on an antique plate; mismatched chairs and tables;  tasselled lamps in dark corners and interesting pictures. In the back room there’s a large metal board across half a wall with magnetic letters and words all over it that you can fiddle with. On the wall facing the bar there’s about 10 framed prints but they look a bit lost, it’s a large space and it would look so much better if it was completely covered with more of the same.

We got a bottle of white wine for the next round, they ran out of buckets but the barman was really helpful and went off looking around the bar and snagged one off an empty table. I really was hoping that Mrs Brown would do cocktails just for something different  there’s already so many places in Fremantle that have good wine and beer lists.

I took some photos as the place was starting to empty out, they’re not great and a bit blurry but you can get an idea of the style of the place.

The Back Room

The Back Room

The Magnetic Board

Opening Hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 4.30pm – midnight;
Friday and Saturday 1.00pm – midnight;
Sunday – 1.00pm to 10 pm.

Mrs Brown,
241 Queen Victoria Street,
North Fremantle.

Phone: 9336 1887

Related Posts:
Mrs Brown a New Bar in North Fremantle

A new bar has opened in North Fremantle. There’s no obvious signage on the facade but there’s some small text on the window calling it Mrs Brown Bar or is it Mrs Brown’s Bar, I must check again to see what it’s called.

Flipside, the burger bar next door, is the licence holder. It looks great. I love the light fitting above the bar made of pipes. It was busy earlier on in the night before I took the photo.

Mrs. Browns

The licence application states:
“The bar will be pitched, in terms of ambiance, product and price point, at patrons in the 28-60 year old age group. The target market will enjoy a glass of wine, good food and conversation in a comfortable, seated environment.”

Because once your over 25 you like to spend your money quaffing wine in a comfy chair. I’m going on Friday I quite fancy myself perched upon one of those stools.

Opening Hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 4.30pm – midnight;
Friday and Saturday 1.00pm – midnight;
Sunday – 1.00pm to 10 pm.

Mrs Brown,
241 Queen Victoria Street,
North Fremantle.

Phone: 9336 1887

Related Posts:
Return to Mrs Brown of North Fremantle